Charlotte Wyatt creates images mostly in the two related disciplines of oil on canvas and charcoal on paper, that are by turns playful and provocative but always bold and engaging.

An artist from a young age. Charlotte has recently returned to painting full-time after a hiatus of some years, during which she engaged in disparate forms of expression including performance and digital art. Now she works mainly in the field of figurative neo-expressionism.

The point at which an abstract mark becomes a representational suggestion of form has always been of interest to Charlotte and the process-driven element of abstraction presented by the texture and visible brushstrokes of the paint (or scratches and smudges of charcoal) is often given the space to make its own contribution to the work. Likewise, physical features of some subjects may be distorted or exaggerated, while at the same time revealing a concentration of study of the subject that goes beyond traditional caricature.

As such, her representations can take on multiple meanings, leaving space for the viewer to interact with the images in refreshing, dynamic ways. Turbulence, biomorphism and an iconoclastic ‘anti-erudition’ seem to display themselves throughout her works, though never in a contrived or knowing way.

Though mainly situated in the tradition of figuration, her art inhabits a space of its own making, overlapping and communing with various other schools, most recognisably those of the various neo-expressionist movements from Europe (Neue Wilden, Transavanguardia) and the USA (Bad Painting).

In a contemporary environment wherein the image always has the potential to be shared online, often in an increasingly polarised way, the image-as-comment (even when not intentionally politically charged) has, after a period of being unfashionable, become ubiquitous again. These shared images, solely through being displayed so widely and so immediately, become part of the current meta narrative that now seems to dominate the public sphere of image-meaning, even though this narrative has, by now, a rather forgotten beginning and an unforeseeable ending. It is therefore partly in response to this context that Charlotte, feeling rather than planning her way, creates images that have meaning and resonance to herself and it is this personally authentic and unmoderated integrity that offers a touchstone for others. For even though the images leave space for many interpretations, they only do so within the context of a personal human experience rather than an ideological narrative.

Her paintings often reference the almost infinite amount of casual photos taken on phones or may sometimes be pictorial responses to conversations she has had or overheard, whatever the subject, the bold style executed in rapid, gestural marks is usually to be seen. Some of the works (for instance, her ‘Bathers’ series) references painting itself in a historiographical way (both the subject, which was famously chosen by Seurat and Cezanne among others, and also the neo-expressionist style of painting) and also the comical, self-deprecating way we describe the anecdotal in our every day lives.

Training & career to date

Charlotte first studied art at foundation level at Bournemouth Art School (BU) then completed a BA Hons in 2 dimensional design at Hertfordshire University in 1999. After art school she continued her practice privately, though still attending short courses and painting workshops with other artists.

She has only recently chosen to engage with the art market and to make her works available for sale. Her first, self-organised, solo exhibition was in 2023 at her studio in Dorset, which was well attended and which saw the sale of many of the works put on sale. She is not currently affiliated with any gallery or dealer.